---
id: "quote-differentiator-is-leadership"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["¶4"]
tags: ["leadership", "core-thesis"]
related: ["claim-leadership-drives-roi", "concept-ai-shapers"]
speaker: "Authors"
speakers: ["Rens van den Broek", "Samantha Hellauer", "Dina Wang"]
source_url: "https://hbr.org/2025/09/what-companies-with-successful-ai-pilots-do-differently"
source_title: "What Companies with Successful AI Pilots Do Differently"
sources: ["execution"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-execution"
originDay: 8
articleStem: "hbr-foci-60-successful-ai-pilots"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2025/09/what-companies-with-successful-ai-pilots-do-differently"
sourceTitle: "What Companies with Successful AI Pilots Do Differently"
---
# The differentiator is leadership

## Quote: The differentiator is leadership

> "What we came to realize in the course of doing our interviews is that the differentiator is leadership."

**Speaker:** the Authors ([[entity-rens-van-den-broek]], [[entity-samantha-hellauer]], [[entity-dina-wang]])

### Significance
This is the article's thesis sentence. It anchors [[claim-leadership-drives-roi]] and the central elevation of [[concept-ai-shapers]] over technical talent.